She further said, the number of women going for foreign employment as housemaids has dropped this year,and that the government has initiated discussions to minimise the numbers of women going for foreign employments in Middle East countries. She further pointed out that women are being educated at rural level to discourage them seek foreign employments as housemaids and the government has allocated a large sum of money for the programme.

She made these observations in Parliament yesterday joining the committee stage debate on the budget proposals for the fiscal year 2016 under the financial heads of Women and Child Affairs Ministry, Mahaveli Development and Environment Ministry and Irrigation and Water Resource Management Ministry.

Current government with its development process had given priority for the women and children in providing houses for the needy women,, increasing women's representation in politics and decision making, protecting  the rights of the children and preventing child abuses., she added.
 

She further said Centres will be established for women and children to discuss their issues openly as well as day care centres. A wider program to prevent the child abuses and violences has been commenced with the cooperation of the political authorities, civil organizations and the mass media, the Minister added.